NJ beach to get sand where ordnance found

Harvey Cedars beach on Long Beach Island (New Jersey) to get sand where WWI munitions found.

Failure staffSep 02, 2009

Yesterday the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced that it plans to pump sand onto Harvey Cedars beach on Long Beach Island (New Jersey) during an upcoming beach-replenishment project. Sounds like a positive development for beach-goers, except the sand will come from the same dredge site used to refill nearby Surf City beach in 2006 and 2007, which resulted in upwards of 2,000 WWI-era munitions being deposited on shore — including anti-aircraft shells, fuses and detonators — necessitating an expensive, long-term cleanup project involving lots of heavy machinery.

Naturally, the Army Corps says there is nothing to worry about, as a screening process will be used to prevent any “potential munitions of concern” — wouldn’t any unexploded ordinance be of concern? — from making it onto Harvey Cedars beach. The screening process will be executed in conjunction with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.